When removing all local game data (uninstalling a game), the (propably linux-specific) files of that game won't be removed. After removing e.g. Team Fortress 2, the "Steam/SteamApps/[user]/Team Fortress 2" directory is still present and contains all in all 1.1 GB of files (e.g. "hl2.sh", "hl2_linux" ...)

This TF2 directory is present in case you want to install TF2 again I guess, you can find cache files created at first TF2 launch (which sometimes take some time), config files and any additional content downloaded from custom servers. If you uninstall TF2 under Windows, that folder will stay there aswell :)

As a temporary solution from launcher leftovers try one of two things: